The Other Life
by Rehtse46
Summary: Mickey and T.M. are given the chance to go back to the Dream Eater world and save Violet, Travis, and Luna from the Dark Lords. They travel to the human world to find Marigold, and they also meet Ginger, a friendly Death Sorter. An old friend is found, as well as a piece of Mickey's mysterious past. In the end, who is the TRUE hero? Read and find out! Rated T for bloodviolenceetc
1. Chapter 1: The Human World

**Hey hey hey! Guys, I'm back! Did you miss me? I'm kidding...of course you did. xD. Sorry. Anyway, I AM making a trequel! Duh! So, here's the first chapter! Enjoy!**

The Other Life

Chapter 1: The Human World

T.M. scowled as he thought of Violet, and how much trouble she was in.

First Esther dies, and now Violet gets captured by the Lords of Dark. Perfect.

He stopped scowling when he thought of how much he missed Esther.

She had a died a good death, along with Sor, they both died of old age.

Violet was sad, but she had Travis and Lily with her.

Storm had gone back to her father, and still no one knew where Eve was.

Violet had married Travis, and Lily lived with them.

Luna lived alone, and refused to live with them, because of what happened to all her family.

They later found her lying on the floor, dead, in her home.

Some had thought, suicide, because of her depression.

But, no, Luna had talked to Rosalina in heaven, telling her it was all too much stress one day, and she suddenly died of a stroke.

She was a little older than Esther when she died.

Esther and Sor, you would think, would have joined the rest of their friends and family who died, but they went somewhere else, apparently.

Now Violet had been captured, along with Travis and Lily.

T.M. paced around, seething with anger.

And here I am, not doing anything!

Suddenly, a sweet, heavenly voice rang in his ears.

"Mickey, The Hero's Death, and T.M., The Brave One, come to me now, please."

Mickey walked past T.M., and T.M. scowled, and followed him.

They walked right up to a tall woman, who had long, dark red hair, and dark eyes that were full of wisdom.

This was the queen of the heavens.

T.M. and Mickey bowed respectfully to the queen, then straightened.

The queen smiled slightly, then spoke softly,

"As you know, yet have not seen, friends very close to both of you are in grave danger."

"Once again." T.M. muttered under his breath; Mickey elbowed him.

The queen gazed at T.M., then continued to speak as if he hadn't been talking.

"Your group of brave Dream Eater warriors has caught my heart. And that is normally a hard thing to do."

T.M. snorted, but then quickly turned it into a cough.

The queen ignored this, and kept talking.

"And so, I decided, even though one of you may be a complete imbecile," T.M. glared at her, "you two may travel down into the living world."

They both gasped.

"M-my queen, that is against the sacred rules of death..." Mickey stammered.

The queen smiled.

"Do you wish me to change my mind?" She asked smoothly.

They both shook their heads.

"Then it's settled. First, you must find Esther's sister."

Mickey looked at Luna, who was watching them with a perplexed look on her face.

"No, not her. Her OTHER sister." The queen said gently.

Mickey and T.M. stared at each other, then back at the queen.

Suddenly T.M.'s eyes widened.

"But, queen! Th-that's, that's dangerous! Extremely dangerous!"

The queen gazed at him sadly.

"For you. Mickey will be able."

T.M. scowled.

"You're crazy." He started to walk away.

The queen watched him go, then smiled at Mickey.

"A bit of a temper, that one has."

Mickey nodded, disgusted at T.M.'s behavior.

"I'm very sorry, my queen. But, what do you mean by Esther's other sister? You don't mean Rosalina and T.M. had another baby?"

The queen shook her head, laughing slightly.

"Ah, no. Did you know, that every time a Dream Eater is born, a baby that looks and acts exactly like them, except without the powers, is born in The Human World? When Esther was born, there was a baby like her born in The Human World. That baby had a sister, Marigold. Find her."

Mickey shook his head, looking up at her.

"But, she's only a human! How could she help us?"

The queen smiled sadly.

"My dear, not only the ones with power are powerful."

Mickey had no clue what she meant, but he had a different question on his mind anyway.

"My queen, who are The Dark Lords?"

The queen looked away.

"Do you think, that all the villains you faced were really pure evil? Do you remember the serum Esther was injected with? Ever wonder about all that? The villains you faced weren't evil; they were simply kidnapped by The Dark Lords and injected with a different, long-lasting serum. Yes, even more powerful than the Dream Eater serum. They were real people before that. They gave a smaller, less valuable serum to Bloody Snake, so he could test it on Esther to see if it worked. Sure enough, it did. The Dark Lords are that powerful."

Mickey hoped this next question wouldn't dampen his spirits even more.

"Is Esther there? I mean, the human Esther? And how old was she when she died?"

The queen gazed at him.

"When the Dream Eater dies in the Dream Eater world, the human dies in The Human World. But when a human dies in The Human World, the Dream Eater in The Dream Eater World only suffers a short amount of intense pain. And, so, your friend Esther is dead in both worlds. I'm sorry. As for her age, in The Human World, everyone is younger. You see, the human Esther was only 13 when she died. Too young. She died in bed, mysteriously. Not even the doctors knew how. She was the same age as Marigold, and the same age as you."

Mickey hid his disappointment, and spoke.

"But, what do I do after that?"

The queen smiled.

"After that? Marigold will know."

Mickey nodded, and bowed.

"Thank you, queen."

The queen latched her hand into his.

"Please. Call me Dawn."

Mickey smiled for the first time in their little chat; the queen squeezed his hand, let go, and slowly walked away.

Mickey walked toward T.M. who was glaring at the queen as she went.

"So, have a nice little chat? I didn't want to interupt, since i'm just a non-Dream Eater Skel!" He spat.

Mickey sighed, slightly annoyed.

"Quit your whining. You're acting like a child. You were very rude to Da- I mean, the queen." Mickey said, redding slightly.

T.M. whistled mockingly.

"Oooh, the queen had a little, alone time with Mickey? Did you get her phone number?" T.M. asked sarcastically.

"No, but I remember YOU asking ME for MY phone number." Said a soft voice behind them.

T.M. whipped around.

Rosalina was right behind them, glaring slightly at T.M.

"A-ah. Rosalina. Hi. We were just..." T.M. stammered, embarrassed.

Rosalina raised her eyebrows delicately.

"I'm quite aware of what you were just doing, thank you very much."

"Anyway, I'm here to wish you good luck." Rosalina said.

Mickey smiled.

"Thanks, Rosalina."

T.M. looked very cross, until Rosalina stooped down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Be good. I love you." She whispered in his ear.

She hugged Mickey tightly, then walked away.

And so, Mickey and T.M. disappeared, heading for The Human World.

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They appeared in the human world, right in front of a house.

It was Marigold's house.

Mickey told T.M. to hide in a bush, so no one would scream at him.

T.M. reluctantly did what he was told, and Mickey walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell.

DING-DONG!

He immediately heard a dog barking, and a girl's voice shouting,

"NO! Bad Zelda! Come here!"

A few seconds later, the door opened, and there was a girl who looked a lot like Esther, holding a small dog.

The girl had long, rich brown hair, and wide, bright green eyes.

She was short for her age, and she wore bright green glasses to match her eyes, shirt, and pants.

She was so bright, Mickey almost got blinded looking at her.

She put down her dog, who barked at Mickey, then strode away looking high and mighty.

The girl nervously pushed up her glasses and stared at Mickey.

"Um, hello." She opened her mouth to say more, but suddenly, a man came hurrying to the door and stared at Mickey with narrowed eyes.

"Who are you? Do you know Marigold?" He asked quickly.

Mickey blinked.

"Uh...well...I'm Mickey, and I kinda know Marigold..." He stammered nervously.

"Kind of? What do you mean, kind of?"

Mickey couldn't think of anything to say, so the man turned to Marigold to question her.

"Marigold, do you know this boy?"

Marigold turned to him, and suddenly those bright green eyes made him have a flashback.

He was seeing himself as a little baby, held in his mother's arms, and he was watching his father fight Bloody Snake.

"GO! Take the baby and run!"

His mother clutched him tighter and ran.

Suddenly Bloody Snake barreled toward her and grabbed at her dress.

She cried out, then dropped him.

He flew with the wind, out of the scene, and landed far away, on the doorsteps of a house.

The door opened, but suddenly the flashback ended.

Marigold was still turned to him, and suddenly Mickey realized if she said the truth, then there whole quest was ruined.

"I knew Esther!" He said hurriedly.

They both stared at him.

"You...you knew Esther?"

Mickey nodded.

The man seemed to be fighting with himself.

"Well, what do you need Marigold for?"

Mickey looked at her.

"I need to talk to her."

The man glared at him slightly.

"Alright, fine. But sit there."

He pointed to a bench on their porch.

He shut the door, but when Marigold and Mickey went to sit down, he peeked at them through the windows.

Mickey cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, hi. I'm Mickey. You see, this is going to sound weird, but-"

"I know you." She interrupted him, staring at him urgently.

Mickey looked stunned.

"Um, you...you do?"

Marigold looked a little embarrassed of so much attention.

"Well, not really. I mean, you're in my dreams, but i've never really SEEN you. Until now." She finished lamely.

Mickey's thoughts were racing. Did this have anything to do with Esther?

She's dead, his brain chided, but he pushed those thoughts away.

Marigold started to speak again, interrupting his thoughts.

"I've also seen these weird figures, like dark shapes...they make me feel...I don't know..." She murmured.

Mickey looked at her.

"Those would be the Dark Lords."

He talked to her about the different worlds, what he'd been through, everything.

She listened carefully to every word, then stared at the ground when he was done.

"So...Esther is dead in both worlds?" Her voice cracked a little.

Mickey didn't look at her, but nodded.

They were silent.

Then Marigold spoke, her voice trembled a little bit,

"I'll go with you."

Mickey looked surprised.

"Uh, why?"

Marigold looked away, a far away look in her bright green eyes.

"I want to know more about my sister. On this trip, I know I will find out more."

They were silent again.

"What about your parents?"

Mickey asked her.

Marigold sighed.

"I don't know."

"I do."

Marigold jumped, because, coming out of the bush was T.M.

Mickey glared at him.

"Um, HELLO?! Human parents around!" He whisper shouted.

But that was no longer a problem, because all three of them heard a thump, and knew exactly what it meant: Marigold's dad had fainted.

Marigold sat there, shocked, then got up, marched over to T.M. and jabbed a finger at his chest.

"You can't just do that! That was my father!"

T.M. raised an eyebrow.

"He's still your father, he's just your fainted father now."

Marigold sneered and stormed away.

Mickey threw a disgusted look at T.M., then walked after Marigold.

T.M. sighed and walked after both of them, muttering to himself,

"Girls. So dramatic."

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They walked for a long time, neither Mickey nor T.M. making a sound.

They were walking in a beautiful woods, when they came to a bunch of ancient ruins, and a waterfall.

T.M. sat down in the shade, watching Mickey and Marigold.

Marigold sat down on a particularly large piece of strangely carved stone, put her head in her hands, and sighed loudly.

Mickey sat next to her and watched the waterfall trickle.

"It's hard, isn't it?"

Marigold didn't look at him.

Mickey stared at the waterfall.

"Being different."

Marigold still didn't say anything.

Mickey finally looked at her.

"I know that feeling. Come on, Marigold. Please look at me."

Marigold finally lifted her tear-stained face out of her hands.

Mickey cupped it in his hands and smiled reassuringly at her.

"It's going to be okay."

He looked around.

"So...why are we here?"

Marigold smiled sadly and looked around at the beautiful place.

"I go here to clear my head."

Suddenly, a huge roar erupted out of a clump of bushes, and out came a giant black bear with...red eyes?

Mickey pushed Marigold back, who fell into T.M.'s arms, who backed away from the bear, protecting Marigold.

Mickey pulled out his sword and advanced on the bear.

Then he saw his eyes, and suddenly he thought...could it be?...

"Anul?" He asked the bear uncertainly.

The bear stopped growling and whimpered.

Mickey sighed with relief and put back his sword.

He pet the bear, and spoke softly.

"You miss Luna, boy? You poor bear." He cooed.

Marigold's voice came out in such a squeak that Mickey could almost not understand what she said.

"Um...that bear's eyes are glowing red." She said.

Mickey nodded.

"Yep. Don't worry, this bear is friendly."

Marigold hesitated, then peted the bear and smiled weakly.

Mickey started to talk to the bear.

"What happened?" He said with strange noises coming out of his mouth instead of words.

The bear understood, and started to growl and whimper.

Mickey nodded, emotions flashing on his face.

Finally, he turned to Marigold and T.M., who were staring at him perplexedly.

"When Anul fell out of the darkness, he landed in a part of the human world, but then caught the scent of this familiar woods and traveled here..." He trailed off, suddenly furrowing his brow.

He rapidly asked Anul something, and Anul replied.

Mickey looked pale as he turned for explanation.

"This...this is where Rosalina hid Luna, when...when she was born, from Bloody Snake...Luna grew up here...she found Anul here...we came to save her here..." He looked at Marigold quizzically, and opened his mouth as if to say something again, but a sudden darkness interrupted him.

The darkness spread, until it was covering the whole woods.

The waterfall froze and turned black, the birds stopped chirping and feel to the ground, dead, and the trees and bushes wilted.

Out of the shadows, dark figures appeared, shimmering and whispering.

"Give me the girl, and suffer no pain." One of them whispered.

Marigold whimpered, and Mickey held her tighter.

"Get away." He took out his sword, and T.M. took out his bow and notched an arrow.

They all laughed roughly.

"Give me the girl, and suffer no pain." The one whispered again, who Mickey figured was the leader.

Mickey raised his sword tip to the figure's chest.

"And I said, get away." His voice trembled a little bit.

The figure stared at him with cold, blank eyes.

"Take the girl." He ordered the other figures quietly.

They all slowly became a tighter and tighter circle around them, and as soon as Mickey was sure they were doomed, a black hole formed around their feet, and they fell in.

They could here the figures outraged howls and faces consorted with fury, as they fell, deeper and deeper, darker and darker, hoping this wasn't the end of them.

**Well well well! How was it? Interested? Is that black hole from the Dark Lords, or perhaps...someone else? Friendly? Hostile? Find out, next chapter! See ya! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: A Friendly Death Sorter

**What the frick was wrong with my freakin chapter? I am so pissed! This stupid document thingy is messin! I am SO sorry! Here is the REAL chapter!**

Chapter 2: A Friendly Death Sorter

They all screamed and yelled when they fell, hitting not long after a hard, cold, ground floor.

Mickey looked around, when suddenly he felt a cold, yet soft hand rest on his shoulder.

"Your time has come, Mickey." Said a grave, dark, female voice.

He whipped around, and he saw a figure with a long, hood cloak.

Her head was bowed, and she was holding a long scythe.

Suddenly, though, she threw back her head and laughed.

"Oh man, did you see your FACE?! It was PRICELESS!" She chortled, wiping her eyes.

She had smoky black hair, that was all on the left side of her face, in a spike that pointed downward.

She had gray eyes, and thick, black eyelashes.

She was wearing smoky gray lipstick, and her skin was extremely pale.

Mickey looked at her, with a mix of emotions on his face.

"Who the heck are you?" He asked.

The girl stopped laughing, grinned, and stuck out her pale hand for him to shake.

"Ginger's the name, Death Sortin's muh game!" She whistled.

Mickey shook her hand.

"Oh...you're a death sorter. As in, you tell where people go when they die?" He asked.

Ginger nodded, then pointed to three portals behind her.

"That ones the Heaven," She pointed to a caramel-colored one, "that ones the Hell," She pointed to a black one, "and that ones the Nowhere." She pointed to a white one.

T.M. stared suspiciously at the white one.

"You mean, that one where Eve went?" He asked.

Ginger nodded and pulled out her Death list.

"Yep. Let's see...hmmm...yeah. Not only Eve, I mean, for a while it was only her, but now Esther and Sor are there too." Ginger noticed.

Mickey gasped.

"That's where they went?!"

Ginger nodded and squinted at her list.

"Yes...and you two come from Heaven, hmmm? Interesting, interesting...oh, on the Queen's orders, of course." She added.

Both Mickey and T.M. nodded.

Mickey looked around and suddenly realized something.

"Hey, you were the one who saved us from the Dark Lords."

Ginger nodded again.

"Uh, thanks." Mickey mumbled.

Ginger smiled proudly.

"No prob."

Suddenly, she noticed Marigold and her eyes widened.

She furrowed her brow and closed her eyes.

When she opened them, they were even wider than before.

"Holy cow! This is big! This is huge! This is ginormous! You, Marigold, are traveling with you, Mickey! Wow! And you two don't even KNOW that..." She trailed off, then furrowed her brow again.

"I wonder if I should tell you...am I aloud too?...hmmm..." Ginger wondered out loud.

She looked at Mickey, then grinned.

"Huh. You already had a flashback, so I think you'll find out eventually."

Marigold and Mickey were so confused, they couldn't even say anything.

Finally, Mickey said,

"Wait, how do you know all this stuff?"

Ginger looked solemn, but smiled a bit.

"Because I know everything. Mwah ha ha." She fully smiled now, and took of her cloak, showing that she was wearing a plain black T-shirt and black jeans with black tennis shoes.

"Alright. Got my clothes, got my scythe, got my awesome personality, ok! I'm ready to go!" She grinned.

Mickey looked slightly annoyed, and confused.

"What do you mean, you're ready to go?" He asked, a little edge to his voice.

Ginger stared at him.

"Well, you know, I kinda saved your life, and that was like a HUGE favor so yeah you should bring me with you since that's what I want." She finished.

Mickey stared at her.

Ginger sighed when he didn't reply.

"Do you know how BORING and ANNOYING my life is? All I do is eat, sleep SORT! And they always COMPLAIN." Ginger groaned.

She got down on her hands and knees and pretended to beg.

"Oh, PLEASE Miss Ginger, don't send me to Hell! PLEASE, Miss Ginger I don't deserve it! Oh, Miss Ginger, PLEASE!" She looked disgusted, then got back up and was amused with the expressions on their faces.

"So, anyway, I'm going with you! I can fight, I can hide, and I can totally act up a storm!"

Everyone just stared at her again.

"Fine." Mickey finally mumbled under his breath.

Ginger shouted, "YES!" and jumped in the air, pumping her fist, then hugged Mickey, who looked surprised and annoyed, then hugged Marigold who just looked surprised, and then attempted to hug T.M., but didn't get a chance since he pushed her away, looking disgusted.

She fell onto the ground, but didn't looked angry or fazed at all, she just got back up, picked up her scythe, and said excitedly, "LET'S GO!"

She pointed a finger at the ceiling, and a hole appeared, they all flew up and out of it, except for Marigold, who was a human, and T.M., who was not a Dream Eater.

Mickey carried up Marigold, who looked a little flustered, and Ginger hauled up T.M., groaning, "Man, do you ever think about a diet plan or something?"

Once they were up, Ginger closed the hole, and everyone looked around.

They were still in the woods, but they had no idea what to do next.

T.M. looked at Ginger and grunted,

"So...aren't your parents gonna be angry? Because you left?"

Ginger snorted, climbed up on top of a rock and stretched.

"Since when do my parents care about me? They could care less."

Mickey felt a pang of sympathy for Ginger.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

Ginger sat down on the rock and looked back at him with a sad smile on her face.

"Well...yes, but that's the way life goes, isn't it?"

She sighed and looked away.

Mickey felt as if she really did care.

He saw Marigold looking away, back at civilization, wistfully.

He walked up to her.

"Thinking about your parents?"

Marigold nodded.

"I was just thinking...my dad's probably awake right now, and he probably told mom, and there probably both worried sick."

She turned to Mickey.

"What was Esther like?"

Mickey looked at her and sighed.

"She was brave, probably the bravest person I had ever met. She was kind, and determined. she knew how to make me laugh, and she had a bit of a temper. She was very beautiful. She was one of my best friends."

Mickey looked at Marigold and smiled.

Marigold smiled a little.

Mickey suddenly had another question.

"Why were your parents so nervous?"

Marigold sighed.

"Ever since Esther mysteriously died, and my little brother Mickey disappeared, they've been like that." Marigold smiled at Mickey. "That's why I like you. You have the same name as my little brother."

Mickey stared at her.

"What happened to your little brother?"

Marigold looked sad.

"When he was three, my parents laid him down in his crib at night, and in the morning, he was gone. We don't know how, he was just...gone."

Mickey felt sorry for Marigold, but felt something stir in her when she said those words.

Why did he feel like he knew her? He had never met her until now...

Suddenly, someone emerged from the woods, flanked by 2 giant, muscle-men.

The person in front was tall, slim, and she had a helmet made of leaves on.

The person in front took of the helmet, revealing she was a girl.

She had short, choppy, chocolate brown hair that was cut just below her pierced ears.

Instead of metal piercings, she had leaf piercings.

She had narrowed, chocolate-brown eyes, and a permanent scowl.

"Who are you guys?" She snarled.

Mickey raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, we don't exactly look like the Dark Lord's followers, do we?" He gestured to everyone.

The girl's eyes swept over everyone, and she pointed at T.M. and Ginger.

"Those two do."

T.M huffed, "Hey!", and Ginger muttered a little smile on her face, "Racist."

Mickey sighed.

"Well, YOU don't exactly look the nicest either, you know. I'm sure you'd be much prettier if you didn't scowl all the time." Mickey grinned a bit.

The girl's face looked like it was resisting to become red.

"You know, judging by your helmet and piercings, I'd say you're from Yirtanuoc." Mickey noticed.

The girl nodded.

"Are you a friend of Esther's?" She asked.

Mickey nodded.

The girl exhaled.

"Good. She knew our old leader, Travis. Our home was destroyed by the Dark Lords. By the way, I'm the new leader. My name is Bena."

**There! Again, so sorry! Angry at this freakin document! Hopefully, I won't have problems like this with chapter 3! See you then! And sorry, I only swear when I'm really angry!**


	3. Chapter 3: Communication

**Hey hey hey! the stupid document problems are gone! I'm still kinda pissed though...anyway, chapter 3 is here!**

Chapter 3: Communication

Bena didn't want to explain much, and night was already here, so they just decided to camp in the woods for the night.

Mickey volunteered for the first shift with Bena, and for the first few minutes, they sat in silence.

Mickey thought about Marigold and his flashback.

Why would the Dark Lords want her?...She's only a human...she has no special power or anything...

And what about that flashback? What was that all about? So many questions, not enough answers...

Mickey was thinking about all this, when he heard a clear, cool voice cut through his thoughts like a knife.

"You know...this is hopeless? Trying to actually...you know, defeat the Dark Lords?"

Mickey looked around wildly, until he noticed that Bena was gazing at him intently, with those piercing chocolate brown eyes.

"I...what?"Mickey asked stupidly.

Bena looked at the stars.

"I mean..." She sighed and looked back at him. "These guys are more powerful than the Dream Eaters. There is no possible way to kill them."

Mickey felt the words sink into him, like cold stones sinking into a pond.

"Um...well..." He had no idea what to say.

Bena looked at the stars again.

"It's just...I need Travis. He helped me grow as a leader, then...now he's captured and..." Her voice cracked, and Mickey looked at her wildly; she was silently crying.

"Bena, I-" He stopped when she surged forward and hugged him, sniffling into his chest, her tears soaking his shirt, making it cling to him.

"Oh, Mickey, I miss him, I don't even know what they are going to do with him, what if they...what if he..." She let out a sob, and hid the rest of her tears in his shirt.

Mickey was surprised, but slowly, he rubbed her back and hugged her back.

She eventually fell asleep in Mickey's arms, so he carried her into the tent and laid her in a sleeping bag, not bothering to wake up T.M. for his shift; he wasn't sleepy.

He walked back out, felt the soft breeze tug at his wet shirt, and wondered if Bena was right.

If they really could defeat the Dark Lords, then there truly wouldn't be any more evil, because they would also destroy the serum.

But if Bena was right...

They were all going to die.

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In the morning, Mickey took one look at Bena's blotchy red eyes and felt defensive for her.

He walked up to Ginger.

"Ginger. Do you know of anybody that could help us...possibly...talk to Violet, Travis, and Lily?"

Ginger looked at him and raised her dark eyebrow.

"Uhhh...why?"

Mickey resisted glancing at Bena, who was just a few feet away from them, listening intently.

"Just...because they can tell us where the Dark Lords are keeping them."

Ginger still looked sceptical, but shrugged her shoulders and said,

"I'll think about it."

She walked away, and as Mickey passed Bena, he tried to act casual.

"Hey." He said simply.

Bena gave a small smile.

"Hey."

Suddenly, Gabriel came in between them, put one arm in front of Mickey, and dragged him back about 10 feet away.

"Must be ten feet away at all times." He said gruffly, and walked stiffly away.

Mickey looked surprised, and Bena just rolled her eyes, and motioned for Mickey to come sit with her on the same rock Marigold sat on the day before.

He did, and they both sat down.

"What's up?" He asked her.

Bena looked warily at Gabriel, who was marching around the tent, guard-style, while Ginger imitated him behind him.

"Well, in case you were wondering, Gabriel is kinda...well..." She couldn't think of the right word.

"Messed up? Not right in the head? Kinda strange?" Mickey offered.

Bena nodded, then said hesitantly,

"Well, he wasn't like that before."

Mickey looked at her, those dark brown eyes scanning every part of her beautiful, sad, serious face.

"Before what?"

Bena looked down, her chocolate brown eyes wide.

"Before Travis's parents left." She whispered so quietly, Mickey almost didn't hear her.

Bena looked back up, and took a deep breath.

"Before Travis's parents left, Gabriel was just a normal guy. Then, when they left to try to kill Wither, a spy for Yirtanuoc sneaked into the castle and found out that Travis's parents were in trouble. Word got around Yirtanuoc quick, and everyone knew, including Gabriel. Gabriel sneaked into the castle to try and rescue them, but only found them dead. He was caught, and they tortured him for information on the location of Yirtanuoc. He refused, of course, to tell them, but luckily Enzo broke in and knocked out Wither before he could torture Gabriel anymore, and they both escaped. Gabriel was never the same again."

Mickey felt like he was just punched in the gut, and he looked over at Gabriel, who had just caught Ginger imitating him and started to yell at her, and Ginger was just smiling.

Then he looked back at Bena, and realized he had nothing to say.

"Bena, I...I'm sorry." He said lamely.

"That was lame." He said truthfully.

Bena laughed a little, and smiled at him.

"See, that's what I want to see. A smile. You look much prettier."

She blushed and looked away, then glanced at him, him staring at her.

"Stop it!" She smacked his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

She smiled again.

"For making me smile."

She got up and ran away, but Mickey knew she wasn't mad.

Suddenly, he felt a push from behind, and he lost his balance and fell into the pond.

"GAH!" He yelled, and saw Ginger standing there, a crooked smile on her face.

"Hey! I just thought you would want to know, I thought about it, and I know someone who can help us communicate with Violet and Travis and Lily!"

Mickey stared at her incredulously, then said loudly,

"Then what was the push for?!" He asked, annoyed.

Ginger thought about it.

"I don't know." Then she skipped away.

Mickey stared at her skip away, then rested his eyes on T.M. who was bent over, clutching his stomach, guffawing.

"What are you laughing at?" He grumbled, trying to get out of the pond.

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After Mickey had gotten out of the pond and gotten on some dry clothes, he and the rest of the group flew with Ginger, (Ginger helping T.M. and Mickey helping Marigold) who knew the way to the mysterious person who could help them.

They flew a long way, and eventually landed in a long field, as far as the eye could see.

Half the sky above them was bright blue with no clouds, and them the other half was midnight black.

Every single blade of grass was exactly the same, which was so unnatural it was almost creepy.

There was a soft sound of rushing water, yet there was no water in sight.

Everything felt strange.

Marigold looked around nervously.

"Are you sure this is a safe place?"

Ginger looked around.

"Well, this IS the place..." She murmured, not looking herself.

Suddenly, there was a dark shimmer in the air next to her, like something was there.

Mickey saw it, and yelled,

"Show yourself!"

The dark figure shimmered again, and did reveal himself.

He was a man, except with dark gray skin and no hair.

He didn't have an iris, just a pupil that covered everything in his eye.

He was tall, and extremely thin, with long limbs and a droopy posture.

He looked dead.

Mickey grimaced, Marigold shivered, and Ginger looked grim.

"Hey, Death, how ya doin?" Ginger said casually, and stuck out her hand.

Death looked at her, then touched her hand with his dark gray one, and her hand shriveled up and fell off.

It landed with a thud on the grass, turning the grass black and shriveled.

"Ah." Ginger said, as she stared at her hand-less arm.

Marigold yelped, and Mickey gasped.

"Ginger! Are you alright?" He stammered, looking at her arm.

Ginger waved him off.

"I'm fine! I'm left-handed, anyway..." She turned back to Death. "Jeez, don't be so dramatic. You could have gotten the point through WITHOUT singing my hand off, you know?" She huffed.

"Look, all I need is a favor. Could you do that for me?"

Death continued to stare at her.

Ginger rolled her gray eyes.

"Hellooo? Anybody there? Come on, say something!"

He continued to stare.

Then, as quiet and deadly as death itself, he spoke in an old, creepy, withered voice.

"Who are you?" He asked, his black eyes boring into her.

Ginger pulled something out of her pocket, something that looked like a business card.

Death read the card, then looked at Ginger.

"You're a Death Sorter? Age..."

Ginger took back the business card.

"I'm 16." She said.

Death slowly cocked his head.

"16...young..." He murmured.

Ginger stared at him intently.

"Oh come on. Please? My group and I just need to speak to someone." She pleaded, giving him a puppy-eye stare.

He stared at her for a while.

"It will come with a price..." He murmured again.

Ginger looked exasperated.

"Oh, COME ON! You already took my hand! Isn't that enough?"

Death's lips stretched into a thin smile.

With a wave of his hand, he conducted a portal, swirling black with speck of purple.

"To?" He asked hoarsely.

Ginger smiled.

"Violet, Child Of The Hero, Travis, Leader Of Yirtanuoc, Lily, Youngest Descendant Of Power." She recited.

Another wave of his hand, and they saw Violet in the portal.

But not the Violet they knew.

The Violet they knew had shoulder-length auburn hair, and hazel eyes.

The Violet they knew had a playful smirk, and definitely did not look like the Violet in front of them this very minute.

This Violet had messy, tangled, shoulder-length auburn hair, and one dark blue eye, and one pale hazel eye.

This Violet had a dull, lifeless expression, but, unfortunately, this Violet was the real Violet.

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Mickey shouted.

Marigold screamed.

Ginger tripped over her-self and landed with her butt on the field.

Bena gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes wide.

T.M. surged forward.

Gabriel looked surprised.

Enzo looked away, extremely troubled.

Violet looked at them all.

"You all look familiar...someone told me about you...someone..." She said in a dull mono-tone voice.

T.M. was hurt the most.

"Violet...oh my gosh...no..."

Violet cocked her head.

"Who are you?"

T.M. stared, hurt beyond belief.

"Violet...VIOLET! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU?! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?!"

He barreled toward the portal, and it took both the guards to hold him back.

Violet stared at him dully.

The Dark Lord leader came into the portal and set a hand on Violet's shoulder.

"Who are you talking to, Violet?" He peered at the group and smiled a ghostly, unfriendly smile.

"What have you done to her, you fool?!" T.M. growled.

The Dark Lord leader stroked Violet's hair, still smiling.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just injected her with ever-lasting serum that has complete control over her, a Dream Eater, for eternity." He traced a long finger over her spine, and she shivered.

"GET YOUR FILTHY PAWS OFF MY GRANDDAUGHTER!" T.M. barked, as he tried to free himself from Gabriel and Enzo's iron grips.

The Dark Lord leader merely narrowed his eye and smirked.

He traced his finger under Violet's changed, sunken eyes and murmured pleasantly,

"Such pretty eyes...don't you agree? I'm sure you've seen these eyes before...perhaps on your own daughter...now on your granddaughter...must hurt, hmmm?...I wouldn't know, I only know the emotions of anger and evil, not remorse...never remorse!" He cackled.

T.M. struggled even harder.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I SLIT YOUR THROAT AND WATCH THE BLOOD POUR-"

The Dark Lord leader cackled even louder.

"You think you can kill ME?! Look at yourself! You...are worthless! Look at Violet! I did this! I have complete control over her! I also did this to Travis, and Lily! It's all over already! You've already lost! AND I ALREADY WON!" He shrieked, and with a wave of his hand, he destroyed the portal.

Silence.

Death smiled at them all.

"Thank you for coming." He whispered, and then he closed his eyes and disappeared.

**Well well well! Ick! That Dark Lord sure is creepy! And so is Death! Duh. Anyway, I hope you liked my chapter, and goodbye!**


	4. Chapter 4: A Multitude of Strange Scenes

**Hey hey hey! Chapter 4 had arrived! Enjoy!**

Chapter 4: A Multitude Of Strange Scenes

T.M. sobbed in his the tent that night.

Mickey was crest-fallen.

T.M. had never cried in his entire life.

He was tough, and never gave up.

But now T.M. was falling apart.

No one else felt much like discussing what to do next, so they just went to sleep.

Hopefully tomorrow would be better.

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Bena was lying on the floor, sleeping.

Mickey stared at her blankly, then walked over to her and shook her gently.

"Bena? Bena, wake up." He whispered.

Bena opened her chocolate brown eyes and looked at him through wet eyelashes.

"Mickey? Where are we...?" She murmured sleepily, rubbing her red, puffy eyes and looking around.

Mickey looked around, too, but he just couldn't understand why.

"Why...I am so confused. I'm not really even sure who I know, right now. Have we met?"

Bena though for a while.

"We must know each other, since I called you Mickey and you called me Bena."

Mickey helped her up.

"Are we...dreaming?"

Bena shrugged.

"Is that possible? For us to share a dream?"

Mickey slowly nodded, uncertain.

"I think so. Isn't that one of the qualities of a Dream Eater?"

Bena shook her head.

"I have no clue. Does that mean I'm a Dream Eater? Do I even know what that means?"

Mickey looked mesmerized.

"I'm not really sure. In fact, I'm not even sure of anything right now."

They walked along the floor, not going anywhere.

Mickey tried to recall his memories, but nothing came to mind.

Bena stopped, and so Mickey stopped too, but didn't know why.

Then he realized it was because he had to; they were holding hands.

Mickey never remembered them grasping each other's hand.

He looked at Bena.

"Why did you stop?"

Bena looked up at him.

"I think I just remembered something." Her eyes were wide and beautiful.

Mickey gripped her hand harder.

"What?" His voice shook.

Bena closed her eyes and smiled.

"I like you."

She pulled him closer and kissed him.

Mickey kissed back, and they wrapped their arms around each other.

A few minutes later they separated, and Mickey frowned.

"Why?" He asked her. "Why do you like me? Bena, I remember now, we just met a few day ago. Are you sure you like me?"

Bena shook her head and smiled.

"I do. I don't know if that's wrong of me, but I do."

Mickey looked away.

"Are you only doing this out of desperation, or your heartbroke, or...you...really do like me?"

Bena pulled him closer.

"All of the above." She answered, and kissed him hard.

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Mickey bolted up.

Steady breaths, steady breaths...

He slowly looked at Bena, who was sleeping next to him in her sleeping bag.

He sensed something was wrong, and that is why he bolted.

But what did he think?

He recalled having a dream, too, but he couldn't remember what it was about either.

Anyway, now that he was awake, he couldn't fall asleep.

He took a walk in the woods, where he heard a young, pretty female voice singing,

"Sleep my child, go to sleep my child, dream sweet dreams of olden times.

Dream my child, sweet dreams my child, rest your weary mind. Waltz under moonlit trees, sail all the wondrous seas, give into all your dreams, and sleep.

Sleep my child, go to sleep my child, have no fear, i'm here by your side.

Dream my child, sweet dreams my child, the sun has said goodnight. Drift through the open sky, wings spread and spirits high, wave as the clouds go by,

and sleep. Sleep my child. Sleep my child. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep." The voice sang.

Mickey hid behind a tree, then peered at the person who was singing.

It was Marigold.

He walked out from behind the tree.

"Marigold." He said.

She jumped and whipped around, but relaxed when she saw Mickey.

"Oh...hi, Mickey."

She nervously pushed up her glasses, and Mickey continued quietly.

"You have a very pretty singing voice."

Marigold blushed.

"You...you heard that?" She whispered, shifting her gaze.

Mickey nodded.

Silence.

Then Marigold sighed.

"That...that's what my mother used to sing to me when I was young. I still remember every word like it was yesterday."

Mickey nodded again, then imagined a woman with long, rich brown hair and bright green eyes with glasses, tucking in a small Marigold, singing and smiling as she watched her little girl fall asleep peacefully.

He felt a pang of longing.

Would he ever feel the love of a mother?

He looked at Marigold.

"Could you sing it again?" He asked quietly.

She hesitated, then sang it again like requested.

As Mickey listened, he realized something: The first time he heard this song, was not with Marigold singing it.

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Mickey walked back with Marigold, singing the song quietly to himself.

Everyone was awake by the time they were back, and T.M. was staring into the pond.

Mickey walked over to him.

"Hey." He said simply.

T.M. didn't reply.

Mickey stood there, watching T.M.'s reflection in the pond.

He was walking away, when suddenly he heard T.M.'s voice, hard and cold.

"Is that it, then?"

Mickey looked back, surprised.

T.M. was staring at him.

"Well, is that all you're going to do? Is that all WERE going to do? Walk away, at everything, especially when they reach the point of hopelessness?" He demanded, staring into Mickey's brown eyes with his own blood red Skel eyes.

Mickey's mouth slowly opened, and he struggled for words.

T.M. didn't let him say anything anyway.

"If Violet and Travis and Lily are already brain-dead, then what's the point, huh?! Is that what you guys have been thinking?! Well, NO! That's not what we've been sent here to do, Mickey, and you KNOW!" T.M. growled, pointing a finger at Mickey, not even caring if the sleeve of his cloak doesn't cover his Skel finger.

Mickey gasped, and surged forward to cover the finger with the cloak, but T.M. roared and pushed him back.

"NO, Mickey! I don't CARE if i'm a Skel! There, everyone, I'M A SKEL!" He shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth.

Marigold looked nervous, Bena looked suspicious, Enzo looked troubled, Gabriel looked bored, and Ginger just shrugged.

Mickey got up, and brushed himself off, when he heard Marigold's small voice ask,

"What do you mean, you've been 'sent here'?" Marigold asked quietly.

Mickey looked frustrated, and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, Marigold."

Bena walked up to him and looked him straight in the eye.

"Yes, it does, Mickey. What does T.M. mean you were sent here? Who sent you?" She raised her eyebrow.

Mickey looked pale.

"Well...now, see here Bena, this isn't easy to explain..." He stammered, and swallowed hard.

T.M. marched towards them.

"THAT doesn't matter!" He growled. "What MATTERS, is that we may not be able to save Violet and Travis and Lily, but we WILL kill the foul beasts, the Dark Lords, who brain-washed them with that evil serum!" He finished, glaring at all of them.

No one spoke.

"Um, excuse me for asking, but how exactly are we going to do that? Look, I know history pretty well, and I know all about Lily and Eve. Those two girls are like...REALLY powerful. Like, even more powerful than the Dream Eaters. They are Dream Eaters, but they have another power...i'm not sure what it is, though. But anyway, if the Dark Lords were able to capture someone as powerful as Lily, who knows what they could do." Enzo shook his head in wonder.

Suddenly, Marigold piped up.

"If Lily is that powerful, she is probably fighting the serum."

Mickey stared at Marigold wonderously.

"How do you THINK of these things?" He half-laughed.

Marigold smiled shyly.

T.M. walked up to her.

"That's right. Lily is fighting the serum. That is one thing we can rely on. The other one, is you, Marigold. The Queen said you were very important, and the Dark Lords are after you. But why? You are just a human...right?" T.M. asked.

Marigold nodded.

"I am 100 percent sure that I am 100 percent human." She said.

T.M. furrowed his brow in thought.

Then he closed his eyes and shrugged.

"Never mind. We are going to go after the Dark Lords, even if we kill ourselves. But if we are going to do that, we need to train."

Mickey grinned.

"Good ol' fashioned training, huh? Sounds cool." Mickey clasped his hands together.

T.M. pointed to a tall, thick tree in the distance, and walked towards it, everyone following him.

Once they reached it, T.M. said,

"Mickey, give me your sword for a sec."

Mickey unsheathed it and handed it over.

T.M. carved a human body, and handed the sword back to everyone.

"Everyone get your weapons. Who wants to go first?"

Everyone suddenly looked uncomfortable.

T.M. rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Alright, fine. I'll show you how its done."

He grabbed his bow and pulled out an arrow.

He notched the arrow, and pulled back.

He let it fly, and it struck the head of the human.

He pulled out another arrow, notched it, aimed it, and let it fly.

It hit the heart.

Everyone cheered except for Marigold, who looked horrified.

"That's horrible! You...you just...KILLED that human figure thingy! Would you REALLY do that?!" She asked.

T.M. raised an eyebrow and started to say something, but Mickey interrupted him.

"Marigold, the Dark Lords are the most evil thing you can imagine. They don't know any other emotion besides it. Marigold, some things deserve to die." He said quietly.

Marigold softened a bit, but still looked stricken.

T.M. glanced at Mickey, then back at Marigold.

"Marigold, you're going to have to fight too." He said, looking her straight in the eye.

Marigold shifted her gaze.

"Fine..." She muttered.

Mickey took T.M.'s place and stuck his sword-hard-through the exact same places T.M. hit with his arrows.

Marigold winced every time, watching people display their talents.

T.M. was determined, Mickey was cruel, Ginger couldn't stop laughing as she sliced the wrong parts of the human figure (If you know what I mean) Bena was forceful, Enzo was graceful, and Gabriel was so crazy he sliced the tree in half.

Marigold was last.

T.M. found a new tree, and stared her down.

"Weapon of choice?" He asked her.

Marigold wouldn't look anywhere but the beautiful tree.

"I don't know. I've never used a weapon before." She said quietly.

T.M. rolled his eyes and slung off his bow and arrows.

He thrust them into Marigold arms.

"Use these, then." He said.

Marigold continued to watch the tree, and Mickey examined her closer.

That's horrible!...Marigold, some things deserve to die...Would you REALLY do that?!...Would you REALLY do that?!...WOULD YOU REALLY DO THAT?!

Mickey's thoughts exploded in his brain, and he cried out in pain and clutched his head.

Marigold started at him, wide-eyes, and T.M. raised an eyebrow.

"What the heck was that?" He asked.

Mickey's eyes burned as he looked into the softening face of Marigold.

Mickey gazed at the tree, and Marigold followed his gaze.

She looked back at Mickey, and suddenly she did a very un-Marigoldish thing to do.

Her face turned fierce, and she reached back into her quiver, pulled out an arrow, notched it, and let it go.

It hit the tree with such force the tree shuddered, and she notched another.

ZINNG!

Hit the tree.

"This..." Marigold gritted her teeth and blew the hair out of her face, "is for making my life so messed up!"

ZINNG!

"This, is for having my little brother gone missing!"

ZINNG!

"This, is for betraying me!"

ZINNG!

"AND THIS," Marigold yelled, eyes wide, "IS FOR KILLING ESTHER!"

She grabbed and arrow, pulled back, and was about to strike herself, when Mickey tackled her to the ground wrenched the arrow out of her hand.

She struggled against his grip, but she was nowhere near his strength.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!"

"Marigold!" Mickey easily pinned her to the ground.

T.M. walked over.

"Well, that was certainly...interesting, shall we put it?" He looked at both of them.

Mickey shook his head and glanced up at T.M..

"No, not interesting...disturbing...very disturbing..." Mickey said, imagining the terrifying Marigold.

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Marigold wouldn't calm down, so T.M. chloroformed her, and Mickey carried her back to camp.

Bena rushed up to them.

"What was THAT? We heard screaming...Marigold?" She glanced down at the limp Marigold in Mickey's strong arms.

Mickey shrugged.

"Yeah, it was weird."

He walked over to Marigold's tent and set her down in her sleeping bag.

Then he told everyone what had happened.

It was getting late, so everyone just thought they would go to bed.

In the morning, Mickey walked into Marigold's tent.

"Marigold? You awake?" He flipped open the flap and crawled inside.

Marigold was sitting on her sleeping bag, her eyes red and puffy, like she had been crying during the night.

She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs tightly, and rocked back and forth on her heels.

Mickey sighed and sat down, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Marigold..." He began softly, but she shook her head.

"I'm so confused, Mickey...I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore." She whispered, tears spilling out of her usually bright green eyes.

Because now they were a dull, faded green.

Mickey sighed.

"Look, Marigold...Think of it this way. Good=Don't kill. Bad=Do kill." Mickey cringed at how stupid that sounded.

Marigold stared at him.

Then, slowly, a smile stretched into her lips, and she started laughing.

Mickey looked at her blankly.

"What?...WHAT?" He asked.

Marigold clutched her side, still laughing.

"That..." Burst of laughter. "might be the WORST..." Peals of laughter. "sum-up I have EVER heard!" Her shoulders shaking, she continued to laugh.

Mickey soon started to laugh too, and then they were both just sitting there, laughing their heads off, when T.M. opened the flap and yelled,

"What the HECK are you DOING?!" He asked, bewildered.

Of course, that just made them laugh even harder, and with an exasperated sigh, T.M. rolled his eyes and closed the flap.

Over the next few weeks, they trained and trained and trained, harder and harder and harder, hoping that they would have smidgen of luck in defeating the Dark Lords.

But when did they ever have luck?

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Esther thought about thy world she used to live in.

How much she knew now, compared to then!

Why, how could you imagine that!

Of course they didn't really believe that lie, did they?

Imagine a death eater like her, dieing of a heart attack! No, of course not...

For it was the killing of thy Dark Lords, thy Dark Lords...

How much she knew about them, how much indeed...

The only way to kill them, their only weakness...of course...

Surely, surely they knew...right? Surely...

I have not felt like this in a long time.

Now I must wait...

Surely they know.

**Well well well! That was certainly an interesting chapter! Hang n their, T.M.! Calm down, Marigold! Confused, Mickey? Esther...are you trying to tell us something? See you soon with Chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5: Tricks and Challenges

**Hey hey hey! Here I am, with chapter 5! Be prepared...MWAHAHAHAHAAAA! Sorry...**

Chapter 5: Tricks and Challenges

"Well, guys, I think we are trained enough, hm?" T.M. asked everyone as they were getting ready to set off.

Mickey rolled his eyes.

"T.M., you've asked that a million times, and we've answered a million times...we have trained for weeks!"

T.M. shrugged.

"You never can be too careful." he said as he slung his bow over his shoulder.

After they were all ready, Ginger led the way (Because she knows everything).

After a few days of traveling, they reached an extremely dark woods.

Ginger stopped everyone.

"Well, here we are."

T.M. scowled.

"Where's the base?"

Ginger furrowed her brow.

Suddenly she snapped her fingers and exclaimed,

"Aha!"

She turned back to the group.

Her expression was very dark.

Not good.

"To get to the base will take about a month."

T.M. gasped.

"WHAT?!" He yelled.

Ginger nodded.

"Because to get through this woods...well...you have to go through your worst fears, and a hole lotta other stuff...so, yeah...maybe we should just turn back!" Ginger said forcefully, and started to walk away, but T.M. held out an arm to stop her.

"Ginger, no." He stared fearfully into the woods. "We're just...we're just going to have to...to do it." He stammered.

Everyone looked nervous.

Ginger laughed uncertainly.

"Um...oldest to youngest?"

T.M. rolled his eyes, but you could tell he was nervous.

"Alright, fine..." He huffed, and started to walk into the woods.

As soon as he walked in, he felt the light, warm air turn heavy and cold, and it seemed to weigh him down.

In fact, it WAS bringing him down.

He fell to the ground and tried to get up, but he realized he was magically chained to the ground.

He tried to call for help, but as soon as he opened his mouth it was filled with sand.

He spluttered and gasped and spit out the sand, then looked up and saw his own dead body, blood spilling over his chest, lying on the ground.

Then he saw Rosalina, with tears streaming down her cheeks, stand in front of him and yell words he could not hear.

Yet he knew what was coming.

He tried to call to her, but the sand appeared again.

He choked and spit out sand, and gave a strangled "ROSALINA!" and struggled against his chains.

But he knew it was too late, as he watched the midnight black sword plunge into Rosalina's heart, her blue eyes widen, her mouth go rigid, and her tall, lean body fall with a THUMP! on his.

A few seconds later, Esther came and knelt down by them, her eyes squeezing out tears and her mouth open in shock.

The look on her face...

T.M. let out a sob and went limp against his chains, as the picture brightened and got closer.

Esther's face, frozen in shock, suddenly her eyes start to turn dark blue and pale hazel...

"THIS ISN'T REAL!" T.M. screams, and struggles against his chains harder than ever.

Suddenly, he is in a long field, but comforting and cozy, not dark and dangerous like Death's field.

T.M. looks around, his chains are gone.

"Uh..." He said, and no sand came.

He just stared.

Then he started to laugh, probably a little hysterical.

A relieving laugh.

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Enzo was next, because he was the second oldest.

Enzo bravely stepped into the woods, and, again, everything was darkened.

He looked around, but saw nothing.

Suddenly, he heard a soft, gentle voice say his name.

"Enzo? Darling Enzo, come closer, dear."

Enzo froze, because he knew exactly where that voice was coming from.

But it couldn't be.

Leana was dead.

"Enzo, great man, we are behind you." Acol's strong, deep voice rang in Enzo's ears.

He was dead too.

Enzo whirled around, and faced two tall people.

One was a man, and one was a woman.

The man had short, neat, chocolate brown hair and twinkling chocolate brown eyes.

The woman had long, curly, chocolate brown hair and kind chocolate brown eyes.

Acol and Leana.

Travis's deceased parents.

Used to be Leaders.

No.

It couldn't be.

Enzo stared at them, his eyes filling with tears, his heart filling with heavy grief.

"Leader Acol? Leaderette Leana? No...you both are dead." His voice trembled slightly.

They both shook their heads and smiled.

"No, we are still alive...come here, Enzo. We have much to explain."

Enzo noticed Leana was cradling a little baby in her arms, with a tuft of chocolate brown hair and wide, chocolate brown eyes.

"T-travis?" He asked.

Leana smiled down at little baby Travis.

"Yes, our little Travis. We love him so much." She smiled, a glint in her usual kind eyes.

She was not real.

"If anything happened to him, we don't know what we would do..." Acol's voice was his, but it sounded like another voice was adding with it.

A voice of pure evil.

A Dark Lord's voice.

Leana leaned down to kiss the baby on the forehead, but Enzo saw a glint of fang as she opened her mouth...

Enzo screamed and snatched the baby from Leana's hands.

The demented couple did not look the slightest surprised.

In fact, they started crumpling to the ground, tears streaming down their faces, howling with pain.

"Please! Please give us the baby! Why would you do this, you horrible, horrible man..." Leana sobbed, arms flailing.

Enzo stared at them, perplexed.

"You were...you were going to KILL him..." He muttered, dazed.

He looked down at the baby, who started to cough, and cough again, and saw he was choking on black blood.

Enzo screamed, and looked back the parents.

"GIVE HIM TO US!" Leana screamed, clawing at Enzo.

Enzo jumped away from Leana, and knew she would kill the baby if he gave her him.

So, he gripped the baby tight, and screamed into the sky, at the top of his lungs,

"NOOO!"

Then he fell to his knees, sobbing.

"Enzo...Enzo..." Strong arms helped him to his feet.

"Travis...TRAVIS!" Enzo screamed, fighting against the arms, "YOU KILLED HIM!" He howled, then felt a rag over his mouth and felt nothing more.

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Gabriel was next, and everyone was very nervous about sending him in.

Because everyone knew what he would face in there.

Gabriel walked in, and for the third time, everything turned dark.

Suddenly, he was chained to a wall, with a tall, withered figure looming in front of him.

"I think our visitor has woken up...shall we greet him, Mother?"

A woman with long, curly black hair and icy blue eyes stood next to him, licking her wide, thin red lips in anticipation.

"Yes, Wither, yes...but he have a very painful way of greeting our visitors, don't we?"

Gabriel felt a knife drive into his skin, and he screamed bloody murder, and struggled wildly against his chains.

Mother laughed and un-pleasant, tinkling laugh, and said, "Do it again, Wither."

So Wither struck the same spot, and Gabriel screamed and sobbed.

"Crying like a poor baby...that's what your LEA-dears did before THEY died!" Wither sliced Gabriel across the chest and watched the blood poor, and Gabriel screamed his lungs out.

Wither and Mother laughed, and then Mother whispered something in Wither ear and he smiled.

He tore Gabriel's shirt with the knife, revealing Gabriel's slightly hairy chest.

He sliced a big X across his chest and shrieked happily,

"X marks the spo-ot!" He shouted in a singsong voice, and him and Mother erupted into peals of laughter.

Gabriel gritted his teeth and tried not to scream, so he let out a moan.

Then he realized something.

"You said...you said when Acol and Leana died...what do you mean, they're dead?" He asked them.

Wither smiled evily, a glint in his white eyes.

"We killed them. There is no one left to save you. You will be here forever, and we will torture you forever, and you will never die!" They cackled and drove the knife through his heart, right through the X.

Gabriel screamed and screamed, until he heard a little voice in his head.

Gabriel...fight it. Fight it, Gabriel...

A simple voice replied,

I can't.

That simple voice was his own.

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The rest of them were all the same age range, so it was a little hard to tell.

Though here's what they figured out:

Mickey: 18

Bena: 17

Ginger: 16

Marigold: 13

So Mickey was next.

He walked in, and the woods immediately darkened.

"I don't like the look of this, Mickey." A girl murmured at his side.

He turned, surprised, to see Esther standing next to him, sword drawn, looking at him cautiously.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bloody Snake, his poisonous sword about to plunge right into Esther.

"ESTHER! WATCH OUT!" Mickey screamed, lunging toward her, but she passed through him like mist.

She fell to the ground, twitching, and Bloody Snake rolled her to her side.

Mickey saw that one eye of dark blue, and the other was pale hazel.

"Esther...Esther!" He heard a very familiar voice behind him yell.

He whirled around and faced 16-year old Mickey, who was staring at Esther with shock.

Bloody snake yelled at everyone to line up, and he saw Esther choose him to die.

Past him cradled crying, 14-year old Luna and set her gently into T.M.'s arms.

Then he walked in front of Esther, and spread his arms and closed his eyes.

Mickey's mouth went dry, as he ran toward demented Esther.

"No...stop! STOP!" He yelled, waving his arms frantically.

Demented Esther turned her head and whispered to him,

"You can't stop the past."

Then she stuck her sword right through Mickey, and both of them screamed.

Esther woke out of her trance and wept at the sight.

"Esther...Esther..." Mickey sobbed.

Admit it...that's why you're here! A voice inside his head said.

Suddenly, he knew why they were showing this.

Not only was it painful, it reminded him of the only moments he knew her.

And, through dry, cracked lips, Mickey whispered the words that would get him out of this horrible woods.

"I always loved you, Esther."

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Bena was next.

She walked in, and the woods darkened.

Suddenly, she was 16 years old, living in Yirtanouc.

She was in her house, and her mother was serving her leaf soup for lunch.

She ate it fast, and as soon as she was done, Travis, her best friend rushes in and tells her the Dark lords have invaded and are looking for her and him.

They rush out and meet both the guards.

They almost make it out of the country, but they are stopped by the Leader of the Lords of Dark himself.

His dark, cold eyes sweep her and Travis.

Then he orders the guards to take the most powerful one.

The guards defend Travis, and the leader laughs.

"I don't mean him. The girl is far more powerful than him."

Frozen in shock, she tries to run, but the Lords of Dark are everywhere.

Travis is mouthing something to her.

Turn invisible. He mouths frantically.

She can do that?

So she turns invisible, and the Lords of Dark are frantic.

The others escape try to escape, but the leader yanks on the collar of Travis's shirt, holds him up and roars,

"If I can't have the girl, I will take the boy!"

Bena wants to scream and turn visible and save Travis, but she knows that Travis would want her to stay invisible.

So, after the leader knocks out Travis and gives him to a few Lords of Dark, who vanish, he lights the whole place on fire and vanishes himself.

Bena turns visible and screams and flames indulge her.

She coughs and chokes from smoke, frantically looking around for the guards, but not seeing them.

She remembers when it really happened, how Gabriel grabbed her at just the last second, and they ran out of the burning country.

But Gabriel isn't here.

Just the flames and smoke.

Bena falls to her knees and cries, trying to think of some way to get out of this.

Suddenly she thinks of Travis, and how he mouthed, Turn invisible.

Bena looks up and sees a flaming pillar falling towards her.

Turn invisible.

And so she does.

She also braces herself to feel the pillar's burn and pain, but it doesn't come.

In fact, she feels no fire and smells so smoke.

She looks up into the smiling face of T.M.

That's not really the first thing she imagined to see, so...

"Am I dead?" She asks.

T.M. shook his head.

"Definitely not." Like he REALLY knows.

Bena rolled her eyes.

Boys.

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Now it was Ginger's turn.

She walked in and the woods darkened.

She shrugged.

I'm used to the dark.

She saw her parents in front of her, a tall, skinny man with black hair and small gray eyes, a firm, tight mouth.

And a woman with long black hair and wide gray eyes, a long nose and a wide mouth.

"Ginger. Look at you. What do you THINK you DOING?!" Her father hissed.

Ginger's eyes widened and she bowed her head.

"Nothing, sir." She muttered.

Her father walked over and struck her across the face so hard she fell to the floor.

"Disgrace." Her father narrowed his eyes and sneered.

Her mother helped her up, and turned to her father.

"Damien, honey, do you think you're being a little...ah..harsh, on Ginger?" Her mother asked.

Her father's eyes flared with anger, and he walked right up to her mother.

"What the heck is wrong with you, woman!? You don't think our pitiful daughter has betrayed us?! Huh?!" He yelled in her face, spit flying out of his mouth and onto her face.

"Well, she's going to come back, she's just running of with some friends..." Her mother trails off.

Her father runs a hand through his black hair, looking furious.

"You don't get it...you just don't get, it, do ya, huh Elizabeth?!" He yelled. "Crap, that's what I see in front of me! Both of you, crap!" He slapped her mother and Ginger erupted.

"YOU IDIOT!" She howled, her gray eyes wide with anger, as she barreled toward him and punches him in the gut.

He gasps and his anger returns as he punches her hard, in the jaw.

She falls to the floor, and her father kicks her in the head.

"Your a piece of garbage. Garbage!" Her father breathes heavily.

Her mother is silently crying, and that sparks something in her.

Before, it was sparked by anger, but know it is sparked by love for her mother.

Slowly, she gets up, wincing, and then stands right in front of her father and slowly whispers,

"I swear, if you do anything more to my mother, I swear I will kill you. You can do all you want to me, but you will NEVER do anything to my mother."

Her father's eyes spark with anger, and he pulls his fist back and-

She's out of the woods, standing in front of a group of people in a large field.

She did it.

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Marigold was all alone, and she was about to enter the woods when she heard a voice inside her head whisper,

You know, you could just go home. Live a normal life, and NOT die! Wouldn't that be great?

Marigold froze in mid-walk, and thought about it.

But then she pictured her sister Esther's face, and she shook the comforting thoughts of home out of her head.

This is for Esther. She reminded herself, and walked into the woods.

Like all the other times, the woods darkened, and she saw a Dark lord in front her and she gasped.

"Woah woah woah, Marigold, this is just a vision. Just a vision." She muttered to herself, and then looked back at the Dark Lord and.

"What do you want?" She asked bravely.

The Dark Lord smiled creepily.

"I want you, Marigold..." He said, walking closer to her.

"But WHY?" She asked, her voice trembling just a little this time.

The Dark Lord cackled.

"Oh, if only you knew! Then, then, oh how wonderful the news to you!" He shrieked with laughter.

Marigold shook her head and backed away.

"I need to know how to get out of here! How?" She yells.

The Dark Lord continues to smile.

"You have to admit the very thing you dread the most." He said softly, and smiles wickedly.

Marigold buries her hands inside her face and thinks.

The thing I dread most? What's that?

Suddenly it hit her.

The thing she will never admit.

She looked up at the Dark Lord with tears in her eyes.

"No, I...I can't." She says weakly.

The Dark lord smirks.

"Then you will never escape."

Then he closes his eyes and smiles.

"Ah, if only you knew what could save you." His eyes open. "I know, how about this...I'll give you a hint."

Marigold stared up at him warily.

"And what's that?"

The Dark Lord peered down at her and smiles again.

"Esther is involved." He whisperes.

Silence.

Marigold is still frozen in shock and the Dark Lord leans down and whisperes in her ear,

"Both of them."

Marigold breaks out of her frozen spell.

"Wait, that can't be right!"

The Dark Lord smirks and says,

"Why not?"

Marigold looks away.

"Because..." She struggles. "Because..." She can't say it.

The Dark Lord is inches away from her face.

"Because?" He asks quietly.

Marigold's usually wide eyes grow even wider as she stares him straight in the eye.

And then admits the three words that cause her the most dread.

"Esther is dead." She whisperes.

Suddenly, she is a long field, with everyone in front of her.

Actually, one person is missing.

And Enzo and Bena are crying.

**...I think you know. All these fears are making me...fearful. And what of Gabriel? You never know...see you with the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6: Reflecting and Tea

**Hey hey hey! Welcome to chapter 6! Yes, tea. You'll get it eventually. Just bear with me, and have a cup of Star Anise! Kidding. Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 6:Reflecting and Tea

It was true that if you couldn't survive your worst fear, that you would probably die.

And in Gabriel's already unstable condition, he had indeed faced that horrible fate.

It took days for Enzo and Bena to stop crying.

The troup later found out that Gabriel wasn't just Enzo's best friend, he was his brother.

That news made things worse.

After they pulled themselves together, they walked along this strange, peaceful field.

A few days later, Mickey saw something in the distance.

"I wish there were something we could hide behind." He muttered.

Luckily, the grass was pretty tall, so they just crouched down and watched a young women, another young women, and old woman and another old woman having...tea?

They were kind of far away, so they couldn't tell who they were...

The group crawled closer, and closer...

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"Green? Star Anise? Lemon? Chamile? Sweetened? Anything you want, we have, m'lady." Poppy, or as most people address her, Mother Nature asked The Queen of the Heavens.

The Queen replies,

"Star Anise, please. It's my favorite, and I haven't had it in quite some time. Oh, and, please, Poppy, call me Dawn."

Poppy smiles, and pours some Star Anise into her small tea cup.

"Lemon tea for me, sister Poppy." Rosalina says gently.

"And sweetened tea for me, please, daugher Poppy." Victoria smiles warmly at her eldest daughter.

When all the tea was poured, including green tea for Poppy herself, they all sat down on the picnic blanket and sipped tea.

After a few minutes, Dawn put down her cup.

"I want to thank Victoria for inviting us all. This was very good tea. Now, I think we must discuss what we have came here for."

Rosalina nodded.

"Unfortunately, I think we should start with the death of my youngest daughter, Esther."

They all nodded and murmured in agreement.

"All of us know she has a role to play in this, even though she is...dead." Rosalina said carefully. "Even afterwards, she is still important. Very, important."

Victoria nodded.

"Yes, though this is a dangerous topic to discuss."

Poppy griminced.

"We all know, of the third world. The Dream Eater World, The Human World, and..." She stopped. "Oh, I can't say it."

"The Other Life." Victoria finished.

"The only world who isn't called a world." Poppy whispered.

"Because it is so dangerous. We all know why..." Rosalina said calmly.

Poppy started to say why, but Rosalina shushed her.

"No, Poppy! We have visitors, and it is too dangerous to discuss it in front of them."

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Mickey stood up in the grass and grinned.

"Never can hide anything from Rosalina." He walked up to them and plopped himself down.

'Tea?" Poppy asked.

"No, thanks, Mother Nature."

Rosalina walked into the grass and raised her eyebrow at everyone else.

"Everyone, out."

T.M. stood up grumpily, and Rosalina kissed him on the cheek.

"Darling, stop giving me that face."

T.M. sighed and kissed her back.

"Alright."

He walked away, and Bena and Enzo got up.

Rosalina looked pained.

"I'm sorry about Gabriel. He's a...a very nice man. I mean, in Heaven. He's cured up there." She whispered to them.

They walked away, and Rosalina helped Marigold up.

Rosalina stared at her for a second, then pulled her into a tight hug.

When she let go, Marigold whispered, looking up into her beautiful blue eyes.

"I miss her so much." Marigold said.

"So do I, Marigold." Rosalina said gently, pushing a strand of deep brown hair out of her face. "So do I."

Ginger got up too, and went to sit down.

Marigold sat down next to Mickey, and Rosalina went to sit down too.

"So, what's this dangerous third world that involves Esther that we are apparently not supposed to know about?" Mickey questioned Rosalina.

"It also involves Marigold." Added Poppy.

Rosalina sighed.

"Obviously, I can't tell you Mickey, I'm sorry." Rosalina said.

Mickey groaned.

"Rosalina, come on! How bad could it be?"

All four goddesses gasp.

"Mickey! Don't question it!" Victoria said, glancing around nervously.

Mickey also glanced around, then his eyes fell suspiciously on Ginger.

"There's nothing invisible here, is there Ginger?" He asked her.

Ginger looked around briefly, then shook her head.

"Nope. It's only us." Ginger hesitated, like there was something else she wanted to say. "But Victoria is right, Mickey. We...we shouldn't question it."

Mickey stared at her.

"You know?"

Ginger clamped a hand over her mouth.

Then she looked frustrated and started waving a fist toward the sky.

"CONFOUND YOU-" Ginger yelled. Rosalina's eye widened and she tackled Ginger to the ground before she could say anything more.

"Ginger! DON'T...SAY...IT!" She whisper shouted clamping her hand over Ginger's mouth.

Ginger nodded slowly, and Rosalina got off of her.

Ginger sat up, then looked at Mickey and smiled really big. And fake.

"Nothing." She smiled.

Mickey gave her a disgusted look, then looked back at Rosalina.

"How are we supposed to go on with this mission if we don't know...apparently...the sole purpose of it?" Mickey asked.

Rosalina was silent for a long time.

"There are...many things you do not know, Mickey, and...you will find them out when...the time is right." Rosalina said quietly and slowly.

Mickey stared at her.

"Look how this mission is falling apart! You really think we can make it? Maybe this information can help us!"

Rosalina shook her head.

"No, trust me. This information will only make things worse."

Mickey glared at her, anger creeping into his eyes.

"How would you know?! You haven't been through what we have!" He shouted.

T.M. raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't yell at my-"

Mickey groaned loudly, then sprang up and walked away.

Bena stood up and jogged after him.

And all four goddesses looked very grave.

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"Mickey! What was that?" Bena said, as she stopped next to him.

Mickey looked very frustrated.

"I need to KNOW things, Bena! I can't just...be ignored! I...HATE it when they...just..." Mickey ended with an angry noise and started pacing, running a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Mickey, maybe they are right. Maybe we should just continue with our journey." Bena said gently.

Mickey stared into her chocolate brown eyes.

"But what if that information can really help us?" He asked her.

Bena looked at him doubtfully.

"Look, I don't like the look of this either, Mickey, but-"

Mickey gasped and looked at her with wide eyes.

"What? Mickey, are you okay?" Bena asked him urgently.

Mickey felt faint and sat down, Bena sat down with him and took his hand in hers.

"Mickey?" She asked.

He looked at her, and suddenly she was 13 years old, with long, light brown hair, and sea-green eyes...

Mickey gave a little scream and closed his eyes tight.

"Esther! Esther!" He shouted, and opened his eyes to look at Bena.

"Mickey! Calm down! Esther is..." She trailed off, a pained expression on her face.

Mickey panted, looking wildly at Bena.

Yes, yes... just below her ears, spiky, chocolate brown hair...chocolate brown eyes...yes, yes...

He closed his eyes again and remembered how he had admitted that he loved Esther.

Yes, I did, but that's over now...what about Bena?

Wait a second...why did I just think that?

Mickey suddenly realized that he does like Bena.

But he likes her.

Esther he loved.

Major difference.

He decided not to think about it.

He stood up, still holding Bena's hand.

She got up too, and he said,

"Come on. Let's get back to the group."

So they walked back, and sat down.

But they could both tell the air was tense.

And something was very wrong.

"Uh...something wrong, Rosalina?" Mickey asked nervously, seeing Rosalina was looking at him very nervously.

His eyes scanned everyone.

They all looked nervous.

Except for Ginger.

She looked terrified.

And Marigold looked so scared it looked like she was about to faint.

Suddenly Ginger burst out,

"OH MY GOSH, MICKEY, I'M SO SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO, IT JUST SORT OF CAME OUT-" She started shouting.

Rosalina cut her off with a piercing glare.

"Ginger, that's enough." Then she turned to Mickey. "You might as well know, Mickey. There were two things that I couldn't tell you. One of them, the secret of the Other Life, I still cannot say. But, Mickey...the other one...is...well, Mickey...Marigold...is...Marigold is your sister."

**WOAH! Not only is Gabriel dead, Marigold is Mickey's SISTER? See you soon with the next chapter! It'll explain everything, along with another little surprise...MWAHAHAHAAAAA! Sorry...**


	7. Chapter 7: Jack

**Hey hey hey! The title explains it all! Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: Jack

Mickey's reaction: Shock.

Utter shock.

He sat there, his mouth wide open, his eyes wide open.

Not.

Moving.

One.

Bit.

Then he shouted,

"WHAT?!"

Rosalina paled.

"Mickey, when the wind picked you up as a tiny baby, it was strong enough to transfer you all the way from the Dream Eater world, to Marigold's doorstep. Both her and Esther were young kids then, and barely remembered you. After about a year, the wind picked you up again and sent you to my front doorstep. Mine and T.M.'s, of course. But...yes, you are technically her sister." Rosalina finished.

Mickey looked at Marigold, who was on the verge of tears.

"I..." He started weakly, but Marigold flung herself into his arms and sobbed.

"Oh, Mickey! I missed you so much,when you left, I cried so hard, and now you're back!" She said through her tears.

Mickey patted her awkwardly on the back.

"Marigold...I..." He was lost for words.

So they just sat there, while Marigold cried herself out.

Then she sat up, and started to tell a her story.

"When you left, I was miserable for a year. After all that, I always felt distant from everyone. Everyone except Esther, though. I was happy when she was around. Then she died, and my whole world fell apart. I never laughed, never smiled, never made any friends at school. I started to have weird visions, of dark shapes and figures, wanting me, and I got scared. My whole life was a gigantic mess. And I hated every second of it. That's mainly why I came with you, Mickey. To change my life. Hoping, maybe...it would get better. Do you...do you think, after this is all over...you could come and...and live with me and my family? To...to make things better? Please, Mickey."

Mickey thought about it.

Could he really?

But there are so many things that he could do...

"I...I'll have to think about it, Marigold. That's a big decision, and I'm actually very tired right now." He said, and she nodded.

The sun was setting, and the goddesses provided food, water, and shelter for them.

Then they left, and everyone fell asleep, hoping the morning would be better.

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Esther bolted up.

"Something wrong?" Sor asked her, sitting up too.

Esther shook her head.

Sor suddenly gasped.

"Woah! Esther, your...your 13 again!" He stammered.

"WHAT?" Esther exclaimed, and looked down at her young hands.

Eve walked over.

"Indeed, you are. This means you need to fix something. Something that happened when you were this age. Can you think of anything you would need to fix back in the past? This is very important. You only have one chance." Eve asked.

"Alot of things." Esther admitted. Then she paled. "But one comes to mind as very important."

Eve nodded.

"Quickly, you must go." Eve stressed, then helped Esther up.

Esther closed her eyes.

Then spoke.

"Please take me to Jack."

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When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a hot, horrible place.

Hell.

She looked around at flames and saw tortures, screaming people.

She walked carefully over a moaning body on the floor, and then saw the gates of Hell, just a little farther away.

She walked to them, and they swung open as soon as she reached them.

Sitting on a throne made of fire, was a humanoid figure, with red skin and fire as hair.

His red eyes and yellow sharp teeth were extremely frightening, and his serpent tail lazily moved back and forth.

The claws on his hands and feet were bloody and sharp, and his horns were long and pointy.

"Name?" He asked Esther.

His voice was silky and menacing.

"Esther. I came from Nowhere, and I'm here for Jack." She answered.

"Jack, huh? He's in the Hatred area." He pointed to a section of Hell where many angry-looking people stood.

Esther walked into it, and scanned for Jack.

She found him and walked over.

His usually neat, silver hair was messy, and his icy blue eyes now looked cruel.

He was deathly skinny, and the bags under his eyes, his hollow cheeks, showed he was...well, not doing so good.

He focused on Esther.

"Jack...what have you done?" Esther's voice shook a little.

Jack raised a dirty eyebrow.

"What have I done? What have YOU done, more like it. You left me to die." he said in a withered, tired voice.

Esther shook her head.

"Jack, I'm so, so sorry. But that's the past. I came to help you."

Jack smiled a creepy, ghostly smile.

"I don't need your help. I have the Dark Lords. I taught them how to find you, how to kill you. I hate you, Esther."

Esther felt tears stream down her cheeks.

"No, you don't, Jack. The Dark Lords are controlling you. Snap out of it!" She cried.

Jack glared at her.

"I'm going to kill you. Right now, I'm going to latch my hands around your throat and kill you. Kill you." He growled, and advanced.

Esther backed away.

"No, Jack! Wake up! Wake up!" She pleaded.

Jack pushed her to the ground and hovered over her.

"Jack." She whispered.

Jack stopped.

His vision cleared, showing his kind, icy blue eyes.

"Esther?" He asked weakly. "Esther?"

Esther nodded frantically.

"Yes! Oh, Jack, yes!" Esther cried and pulled him into her arms and held him tight.

Jack was dazed, but then stroked her hair and closed his eyes.

"Esther. Oh...oh..." His voice cracked, and he buried his face in Esther's hair and sobbed.

"Jack!" Esther started to cry too.

Jack took his head out of her hair and grabbed her face in his hands.

He pulled it up to his, closed his eyes and kissed her hard.

Esther clenched her eyes and pushed him to the ground, kissing him so hard they were gasping for breath.

They separated, hugged each other and cried.

"I want to stay with you forever." Esther whispered in Jack's ear.

"You can't. You have to leave. Don't worry, they will move me out of the Hatred Area and move me into the Grief Area." Jack said softly, and brushed a strand of loose hair out of Esther's face.

Esther's felt more tears spill out of her eyes.

"That's horrible. Even worse than hatred." Esther said.

Jack smiled sadly.

"It's the best I have, sweetheart." He kissed her lightly, then disappeared.

Esther stood up and wiped away her tears on her sleeve.

Then she vanished, and appeared in Nowhere.

Eve and Sor were watching her intently.

"Are you alright, Esther?" Eve asked kindly.

"I'm fine." Esther lied.

Lied.

**Well well well! Secrets, secrets. Actually, after Chapter 6, I got a huge writer's block, and my friends did their annual "PUT JACK BACK OR ELSE!" because for some reason they love Jack. I was about to say no, like normal, but then I suddenly had this great idea and was like, "Ok. Mwahaha." and they looked at me like I was weird but hey, I am, so I didn't care. Anyway, see you soon with chapter 8!**


	8. Chapter 8: Ginger Spills The News

**Hey hey hey! I've been kinda busy, but here is the long-awaited chapter 8! Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: Ginger Spills the News

In the morning, the group set off for the Dark Lord's castle.

The goddesses provided food and water, and promised they would be there to fight.

With that, they vanished.

The group just started walking, straight forward.

Somehow, Ginger knew the way.

"Have you been there before?" Marigold asked her.

Ginger's face expression immediately turned dark.

"Yes." And with that, no one talked for the whole trip.

A few more miles, with food and water breaks, they arrived at a very dark, very creepy castle.

The Dark Lord's castle.

The group stopped at the entrance, for two Dark Lords themselves were guarding the entrance.

Mickey walked up to them.

"We are here to see the leader of the Dark Lords. Can you please tell me where to find him?" His voice was surprisingly calm.

One of the guards smiled an unfriendly smile.

"Do you mean Kradrol? He is our leader." The Dark Lord said in a weird, scratchy whisper.

Mickey hesitated, but then nodded.

"Yes, your leader." He said.

The Dark Lord opened the large, black door.

"Come on in." He said, a glint in his black eyes.

Everyone walked in nervously, and then they closed the doors.

They walked up to a large black throne, where a strong, powerful looking Dark Lord was sitting in.

"I am Kradrol. What do you want?" He said in a deep, amused voice.

"You know what we want." T.M. growled.

"T.M., calm yourself." Mickey warned, then bowed to Kradrol. "My lord, we have come for our friends. Violet, Travis, and Lily." He said, glancing up at him.

Kradrol smirked.

"What do think I'm going to do? Just, hand them over? Are you really that stupid?" He sighed. "Besides, even if I did, they are changed. They don't even know who you are. When they see you, they will try and kill you." He snarled.

Mickey paused, then brought out his sword.

"Now...I'm going to ask again. Bring me Violet, Travis, and Lily." Mickey said, glaring at Kradrol.

Everyone else brought out their weapons too.

Kradrol gazed at them for a second, then burst out laughing.

"Do you SERIOUSLY think, you can KILL ME?! I AM KRADROL, THE GREAT AND MIGHTY DARK LORD!" He roared. "And YOU, YOU ARE JUST PITIFUL EXCUSES FOR DREAM EATERS!" He laughed again, then stopped and stroked his chin.

"However...not ALL of you in this stupid little group are dimwitted losers...for example, I've had my eye on Bena for a while. A very long while, shall we say..." He smirked, got out of his chair and walked over to her.

"Yes, Bena, do you remember?" He whispered in her ear. "That day that I burned down your precious little home?" He ran a hand down her arm and she shivered. "Because I do."

"LAY OFF HER!" Enzo roared, and tried to push Kradrol away, but he simply vanished and reappeared next to Marigold.

"And you. Oh, yes, if I could just handle you...so much power..." He said, eyeing her hungrily, then reached out to stroke her cheek.

Mickey stood in front of Marigold.

"You have no right to touch her." Mickey said, but his voice trembled.

Kradrol smirked.

"You don't even understand. All of you. You're probably wondering, how could a HUMAN be so powerful? She doesn't even HAVE power. Well, you're partially right." Kradol smiled, and walked over to the right side of the room.

"Bring in the Nightmares." He called.

A few seconds later, Violet, Travis, and Lily lumbered in, looking pale and demented.

"Ah, my little Nightmares." Kradol put a hand on Travis's shoulder. "You see, this was supposed to be you, Bena. But, sadly, you mastered the art of turning invisible. A shame, a shame..."

Suddenly, Lily started to twitch, then she gasped and looked around wildly.

She spotted T.M., and then rushed towards him.

"T.M.!" She howled, shaking his shoulder. "YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HER! hE WILL CAPTURE YOU AND KILL YOU! HURRY! NOW! I KNOW HIS PLAN, IT INVOLVES MARIGOLD! YOU MUST PROTECT MARIGOLD! IF KRADOL GETS HIS HANDS ON HER, HE WILL-" Kradol picked her up from behind and pinned her on the ground.

She screamed and thrashed, but one of the guards came and inserted some on the serum in her, and she stopped, calmly got up, and walked over to Travis and Violet.

Kradol got up too, looking annoyed.

"Yes...yes, well, that happens sometimes." He murmured.

Mickey glared at him.

"You fool. Eve and Lily have an extraordinary power. No serum can keep them completely under control." He said, impressed at Lily. "Now, for Marigold..." Mickey narrowed his eyes.

Kradol growled.

He snapped his fingers, and the guards charged at them.

"THIS IS A TRICK! WE NEED TO PROTECT MARIGOLD!" T.M. yelled over the commotion.

But it was too late.

Kradol had grabbed Marigold, and was halfway across the room with her.

The group tried to run after him, but they were held back by the Dark Lords.

Mickey glared at the Dark Lord that was restraining him.

"I will kill you personally." He snarled.

The Dark Lord knocked him out.

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When he woke, he was tied to a chair, and a giant stage was in front of him.

He strained his neck to look around.

The group was sitting next to him, also tied up, and everyone was awake.

Mickey looked to the stage, where Marigold was tied to a giant marble table, sleeping.

Mickey immediately started thrashing around in his ropes, when he heard a tired, defeated voice next to him say,

"It's no use. These ropes are enchanted. They won't break. Ever." T.M. sighs.

Kradrol walks onto the stage and smiles at everyone.

"Greetings, you dour dollop of doleful dimwits! And welcome, to my wonderful show! Guest star..." He gestured to Marigold. "Our little human friend! Now, as you all DON'T know, Marigold has an extraordinary power that I'm NOT going to tell you about! EVER!" He walked over to Marigold.

T.M. glared at him.

"And what exactly are you going to do to her?" He growled.

Kradrol smiled horribly.

"Oh, don't worry. She'll die, alright. But she won't feel a thing." He cackled.

"YOU MONSTER! SHE HAS A FAMILY!" Mickey roared, thrashing around in his chair.

Kradrol smirked.

"Shhh, you might wake her. Well, won't it be hard for that poor little human family who now have, one missing child, one dead one, and soon to be dead one. Too bad I don't feel remorse!" Kradrol threw back his head and laughed.

"Now...time to die, Marigold!"

Suddenly, Ginger let out a horrible noise, something between a howl and a scream.

Kradrol covered his ears and yelled, then fell over onto the stage.

"MIIIICCCKKKKEEEEYYYY!" Ginger screamed, her eyes wide and...sea-green?

Mickey's mouth went dry.

"Y-yes?" He asked.

"THE OTHER LIFE! I MUST TELL YOU WHAT THE OTHER LIFE IS! OR MARIGOLD WILL DIE!"

**Well well well! I will try and hurry up the next post so you can all hear what Ginger has to say! See you then! I'm sure it's important! Kradrol's a creep! Kill him in your sleep! Cio!**


	9. Chapter 9: The End (Forever)

**Hey hey hey! It's THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE LAST BOOK! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! THE BIG TWIST IS ABOUT TO BE REVEALED! ENJOY OR DIE! I'm kidding about that last part, I just wanted to be suspenseful and dramatic and stuff.**

Chapter 9: The End (Forever)

Everyone froze.

Even Kradrol.

And Marigold was awake, staring at Ginger intently.

"Their are three worlds. The Dream Eater world, the Human world, and the Other Life. The Other Life is real. We are all just characters, characters of...well, we don't know exactly. Esther is typing these very words right now."

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Esther stopped.

She stared at her screen.

"What the..." She murmurs, and tries to backspace Ginger's strange words.

But they were permanently etched in the screen.

Well, this is weird.

But, I guess Ginger has something to tell me.

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Ginger paused.

"In fact, Esther was just wondering why I'm saying this stuff. She put it on the page. We aren't real, guys. But...Kradrol-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kradrol howled, snapping out of his daze and barreling toward Ginger.

"NOW, GODDESSES!" Came a familiar voice. A female, powerful one.

T.M. turned as much as he could and brightened.

"Rosalina!" He shouted happily.

The other three goddesses were their too, and with a wave of Victoria's hand, the ropes were gone.

Everyone, including Marigold, ran towards Kradrol and started the battle.

The fight went on for an hour, and everyone knew Kradrol was slowly tiring.

Suddenly, he got a gleam in his eye, and pretended to collapse next to Marigold.

"Oh, I can't go on! Curse you, curse you!" He yelled weakly.

Everyone looked warily at one another.

Suddenly, he jumped up and brought his sword down on Marigold.

Everyone shouted, "MARIGOLD!"

But Marigold had been pulled back, by a stranger with long, light brown hair, and sea-green eyes...

Everyone gasped.

It was Dream Eater Esther.

Kradrol gasped and stumbled back.

"No...No!" He shouted, his eyes wide with fear.

Esther glared at him.

"You really think you can kill me? I'm Esther, Savor of our World!"

Ginger grinned.

"Ok, that's awesome!"

Kradrol snarled.

"You can't kill me. I am invincible! Nothing can kill me!" He yelled.

Esther smiled.

"Are you sure about that? The whole reason you got Marigold, of course...you wouldn't mind if I revealed your whole plan? After all, you're going to fail...let's see, where shall I start. One Esther can't beat you, but THREE can! Now...one from each world...I'm here. I'll get the Other life one in a sec-"

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Wait, what did she say?

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"-and, Marigold, you were very close to Esther, right?"

Marigold nodded nervously.

"W-we did everything together. She told me everything. I'm practically..." She faltered, her bright green eyes wide. "I'm practically her!"

Esther nodded.

"That's right! The three Esther's combined...ultimate power! Powerful enough, even, to defeat Kradrol!" Esther said triumphantly.

Kradrol laughed, but it was weak.

"You don't seriously think, that the Esther who's typing these very words, will travel into this world JUST to save your skin?" He snarled.

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...

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"No. She can't even travel here. Not without Dream Eater help, of course. I'm going to go get her!" Esther declared, and vanished.

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Esther was horrified.

She wildly looked around, but no Esther.

Phew.

Suddenly there was a flash of brilliant light, and Esther materialized next to her.

"AHHH!" She screamed, and then the Dream Eater Esther clamped a strong hand over her mouth and said,

"Quiet! We need to be quiet. You've been reading the text. You know. Now, come on, let's go-"

"WAIT! I know the plot point! Kradrol is releasing his true power, right now! He knew you would be...impulsive...and travel here." Esther whispered.

Dream Eater Esther raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She asked suspiciously.

"I mean, Kradrol is going to destroy ALL worlds. He's that powerful! All he needed to do was to get you here, and he could do it." Esther said fearfully.

Silence.

"We've been tricked." Dream Eater Esther whispered.

Suddenly, the edge of the desk broke off into little black pixels and vanished.

"It's starting! The whole world will die!" Dream Eater Esther shouted.

The whole room started pixelating, and Dream Eater Esther yelled,

"TAKE MY HAND, ESTHER!"

Esther obeyed, and they both vanished.

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They showed up next to the giant group of friends.

"It's happening." Rosalina said fearfully.

Kradrol was yelling, black shadows exploding out of his body.

"I have Esther." Dream Eater Esther said.

Marigold, Esther, and Dream Eater Esther all held hands while esther mumbled something that sounded ancient.

Suddenly, they all rose up into the air, bright light shooting out of them.

"It's too late! Were going to die!" Victoria shouted.

Rosalina shook her head.

"We can make it!" Rosalina yelled.

Suddenly, the whole room started black-pixelating.

Darkness.

Lightness.

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When they woke, the castle was in ruins and they were all lying and soft, green grass.

Everyone was hurt from the explosion, and lots of people were dead.

Dark Lord people, of course.

Along with Kradrol.

And Marigold.

Mickey sat up, dazed, but then he saw Marigold lying next to him, blood spilling from her chest, and he snapped back into reality.

"Marigold!" He shouted, and stumbled over to her.

"Oh, Marigold...no..." He said weakly, looking at her pale and bloody face.

"M-mickey? Oh, it hurts so much..." Marigold said.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it will all be over in just-" Mickey started to sob.

Marigold's eyelids fluttered.

"Mickey?" She said, her voice a soft whisper.

"Y-yes?" Mickey said through sobs.

"I love you, little brother." She said.

"I love you too, big sister." He said, tears rapidly streaming down his cheek.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled as her eyes shut.

She was dead.

Ginger ran over.

"Mickey! I volunteer to take her life! I can do that! I can die, and Marigold will come back!" She shouted.

Mickey shook his head.

"No, Ginger..." He started to protest.

"I will!" She insisted, and started muttering something dark and horrible.

"No, Ginger! Wait!" Mickey yelped, and scrambled up.

But it was too late.

Ginger had vanished in a dark cloud of smoke.

And everyone was silent again.

Then, with a brilliant flash of light, Marigold fell onto the grass next to them.

"Marigold!" Mickey cried, and helped her up.

"W-what? I don't...I..." She muttered, dazed, and then Mickey hugged her very tightly.

"Oh, Marigold!" He cried.

"But...Ginger..." Marigold said.

Mickey stopped.

Everyone was silent.

And then some started sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for breath and wiping tears out their mouth, their shoulders shaking...spikey black hair shaking, gray eyes wide...wait...

Everyone gasped.

It was Ginger!

And she laughing so hard she fell to the ground.

"Ah! You guys...actually thought...that I died! You-should-have-seen-your-FACES!" She shrieked with laughter.

Everyone's mouth gaped at her.

She jumped up triumphantly.

"Don't you guys KNOW? A Death Sorter can't DIE! HAHAHAAA!" She laughed wildly, slapping her knee.

Silence.

Again.

Then Mickey started to laugh, shaking his head.

T.M. hugged Ginger and picked her up, swinging her around.

"Don't EVER do that again!" T.M. laughed, setting her down.

Soon, everyone was laughing.

After that, a confused-looking Dark Lord stumbled over to them.

Mickey noticed that it was the same Dark Lord that had restrained him.

He had to keep his promise, so with one excellent throw, his sword pierced the Dark Lord.

"I did say I would kill you." Mickey grinned.

The Dark Lord fell to the ground, and Mickey pulled his sword out of the body.

Then three confused figures stumbled out of the smoke, Violet, Travis and Lily.

Violet and Travis looked tired and worn, but Lily looked completely normal.

"The power cured us!" Lily said happily. "Well, Violet and Travis are a bit ragged, but they'll be better soon!" She chirped.

T.M. rushed forward and embraced Violet, and Bena did the same to Travis.

After some quick bonding, everyone figured out where they needed to go, and left.

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Esther sighed.

Eve glanced at her.

"What's wrong? No more war, right?" Eve asked.

Esther shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'm going to miss everyone. All the adventures, lost memories. I mean...it's all over." Esther sighed again.

"Yes." Eve said.

Esther closed her eyes.

The End

**WAHHHHHHHHHHH! Sorry, it's just the end of my series and I always get a bit sad. Anyway, how did you like my awesome twist? I know, I know, I'm too good! And don't worry. It's the end of this series, but I have plently more stories I'm going to present. In different categories, of course. So, I don't want to say goodbye! You can always read my other stories! They are bound to be awesome! Duh! So, bye for NOW, but not forever!**


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